Next up: painting flames on my car

I had hoped to write Part III of “Readings in Biophysics,” on popular-science books, this evening, but I haven’t found time. Appropriately, though, I just received an email from the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science , which focuses on helping scientists communicate with the public. It announces a new challenge they’re putting forth: answering the question “What is color?” in a way “that would interest and enlighten an 11-year-old.”

I took a stab at the last contest, in 2012, on the question “What is a flame?” Making a quick post by recycling material, I’m pasting my entry below. I didn’t win. Critiquing it: the sentences are too long and clunky, and it lacks drama that links the panels together. (There are probably other flaws as well, but I’ll stop here!) I’ve noted before that examples of good graphic non-fiction science books are rare — I’m hugely impressed by those who pull it off well. [Click the images for larger versions.]

Perhaps some 11-year old Googling to find an illustrated answer to the question of what a flame is will stumble upon this page…